


the haunting hour

by cryptidsoap



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: AND GAY, Alternate Universe - College/University, Confessions, Crushes, Cute, First Kiss, Fluff, Halloween, Haunted Houses, M/M, halloween fluff, is that a thing?, making out in a haunted house, mingyu is cute, thats a spoiler but its such a great tag so im keeping it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 01:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16483766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryptidsoap/pseuds/cryptidsoap
Summary: mingyu hates haunted houses and pretty much everything horror related. why is he going into one, you might ask? well. xu minghao can be very persuasive.





	the haunting hour

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY (late) HALLOWEEN MY DOODS uh i swear i was going to post this on time but college happened so. 2 hours late  
> uhhhh i hope you like this? i hope it isnt too rushed?? im half asleep rn so sorry if there are any mistakes,,,, anyway w/o further ado, enjoy~

Mingyu wanted to curse whoever suggested it would be fun to go into a haunted house. Actually, he would personally hire a modern-day witch to really put a curse on the person who invented the concept of haunted houses as a fun, entertaining thing. Thinking about it, that person was probably already dead, so cursing their family line would have to do. 

 

Why was he so mad, you may ask? Well, Mingyu is a wuss. He's okay with (some) horror movies and actually enjoys reading suspense books, on the safety of his bedroom, under the covers and with a light on, of course, but experiencing, on his own skin, scary stuff? No, thanks. He doesn't understand what’s so fun about being inside an old house, absolutely in the dark, floorboards and stairs creaking with every step you take, with occasional scary clowns/ghosts/demons/insert any other generic halloween character jumping out of nowhere.

 

Mingyu hated haunted houses. He was, however, going into one, legs trembling and sweaty palms, but holding his chin up as if he was the bravest person alive. The reason for that had a name, a face and a very persuasive set of doe eyes - Xu Minghao.

 

Minghao has been Mingyu’s best friend since the last year of middle school. He was a transfer student from China, speaking broken Korean and with a fringe covering half of his eyes, but his warm smile when asking if he could sit by Mingyu’s side automatically won the taller boy’s affection, and they became friends within days. 

 

On the first day of freshman year, Mingyu entered the classroom not expecting to see the Chinese boy there — he thought the younger would go back to his hometown after one year. Minghao looked a little different, mostly because of his new haircut, fringe now shorter and swept to the side, offering a clear view of his eyes. Eyes that lit up when he saw Mingyu, who was still surprised to see him there, but in a second smiled wide and ran to Minghao, scooping him up in a big hug, tighter and warmer than every other hug they shared.

 

And that was when Mingyu realized his affection for Minghao might not have been as platonic as he thought it was.

 

That was during their first year of high school. They were now on their second year of college, and Mingyu’s crush had only grown stronger, and — he’ll deny that — maybe it had stopped being a crush a while ago, to turn into something even more meaningful. Minghao ironically had his fringe back, but it now obeyed to a whole chic-soft-goth aesthetic, and his silky hair not only fell on his forehead; he had long black strands framing his face and almost reaching his shoulders. Mingyu teased him for it sometimes, half heartedly, as a defense mechanism to hide the fact the he thought it was kind of really hot, especially when Minghao combed his bangs back using his fingers.

 

Minghao’s own presence is already a persuading technique to get Mingyu to do anything. Stay at the library doing homework? No, thanks, but if Minghao’s there, yeah, fine, Mingyu reconsiders it and ends up agreeing. Shopping for supplies? Nah, he can do it later, but if Minghao goes with him, he’ll do it. Going inside a haunted house? Hell to the no. Going inside a haunted house with Minghao? Sure, why not?

 

He didn’t even know who in their friend group suggested they’d go visit the haunted house. He knew he had whined and refused to go, but after Minghao looked up at him with excitement sparkling in his eyes and said “please? It’ll be fun!” he knew he was a goner, all fear be damned.

 

It wasn’t even a really haunted house. It was like a carnival attraction, but it stood alone; you still had to pay to get inside and there would still be fake spiders hanging from the ceiling as you braved through the dark rooms of the house, but there was no ferris wheel or shooting games around it. Either way, it made Mingyu’s blood run cold.

 

The first step he took to enter the house was enough to make him want to turn around and abandon his friends. The floor made a horrible creak noise, and it (probably) activated a recorded creepy laugh that echoed through the whole room. Mingyu unintentionally let out a whine, making Minghao turn to him, face barely visible in the darkness.

 

“Are you ok?” the younger asked.

 

“I’m scared.” there was no need to sugarcoat it for his best friend. Minghao had seen him cry endlessly over his parents’ divorce, so admitting to being scared was nothing.

 

“Why did you agree to come with us, then, silly?”

 

“You insisted.” Mingyu realized how that sounded and cleared his throat to correct himself. “I mean, and it seemed like it was worth a shot.”

 

“You’re the biggest crybaby I’ve ever seen.” Minghao chuckled. “Want me to hold your hand?”

 

And that, my friends, was entering dangerous territory. Because, with Mingyu being Mingyu, the college sophomore who is in love with his best friend, the answer to that question is always yes. But he has to restrain himself, because being Mingyu comes with little to none brain-to-mouth, or, phrasing it better, brain-to-actions filter, and the chances of him fucking up are relatively high.

 

He decided against holding Minghao’s hand and kept his decision for a whole .3 seconds, before there was another creaking noise and a ghost jumped out of the shadows. His left hand automatically found Minghao’s right one, pudgy fingers wrapping around the younger’s delicate ones in a tight grip, searching for some grounding and warmth.

 

Mingyu heard the other’s tiny giggle and, despite knowing it was (albeit good-naturedly) at his expense, was too distracted by Minghao’s palm meeting his and their fingers entwining to pay attention to anything else.

 

They moved on to the other room, and Mingyu braced himself for a jumpscare. Granted, there was a limp body sprawled on the floor, and a clown stood in the shadows, what seemed like a butcher knife glistening in his hand. Mingyu screamed and jumped, clinging to Minghao in what would have been a rather cartoon-ish scene - his arms around the younger and face hiding in his shoulder.

 

“Gyu.” Minghao spoke up, softly. “I can tell you're not having a good time. You don't have to follow us, you can leave, we'll find you after we’re done here, ok?”

 

“Please don't laugh.” Mingyu said. “But I'm scared to find the exit on my own.”

 

Minghao just rubbed his arm comfortingly. “I'll take you there. Let's go?”

 

The older nodded. Minghao didn't let go of his hand at any moment, and Mingyu relished in the warmth, the younger’s presence calming him down as they walked to the exit.

 

The exit that turned out to be locked. Minghao tried to force it open, but to no avail. 

 

“I think we're stuck in here.” he said. “Sorry, Gyu.”

 

Mingyu gulped. “Okay. I'll survive.”

 

The younger chuckled. “That's the spirit.”

 

“Where's the spirit?”

 

“Not like that, Mingyu.”

 

After that, they resumed their walking around, trying to find the rest of their friends, seeing as they had parted ways somewhere along the time they spent at the haunted house. Mingyu was starting to calm down, his eyes were getting accustomed to the dark and there were strangely no weird creatures jumping out from the cupboards.

 

Actually, it didn’t seem like there was anyone else inside the house. The place was quiet, aside from the sound of their steps making the floorboards creak.

 

“Hao.” Mingyu called, squeezing his friend’s hand. “Where’s everyone?”

 

“I don’t know. It seems like they just… Vanished.”

 

“Do you think we entered a parallel dimension?”

 

“I don't think so. Did you feel any change in the air while we were here?”

 

“To be honest, the only thing I’ve felt since I entered this place was sheer fear.” Mingyu chuckled nervously.

 

“I really can’t understand why you came. We wouldn’t be mad if you stayed, you know that.”

 

“I didn’t want to look like a wuss.”

 

“Gyu, being scared of things is not something to be ashamed of. You know I’m ridiculously afraid of dying, and failing, and being forgotten, and it’s not a secret, because it’s not a bad thing. Fear makes us human.”

 

“Yeah, but your fears are understandable. Mine aren’t. Like, catch me shitting myself over a kid in a zombie costume jumping out of a bush.”

 

Minghao laughed at that, leaning on Mingyu’s shoulder. “Fear is irrational. You can’t control it; you just feel it. Don’t belittle yours. Okay?”

 

“Okay, psychology major.” Mingyu joked. “So, what do we do now?”

 

“Well, considering we didn’t enter a parallel dimension, I think we should wait. They’ve probably already left without us and the staff locked the house from the outside thinking no one else was in here.”

 

“Yeah, maybe. So, uh, can we find a comfortable place to wait?” Mingyu fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “And maybe turn on our phones’ flashlights?”

 

“Oh, sorry, yeah, sure.” Minghao took his phone from his pocket and turned on the flashlight, pointing it upwards so the light would spread and illuminate their surroundings. “Where should we wait?”

 

“I don’t know. Is there a couch in here? Or is this house too spooky to offer basic comfort?”

 

“Good point.” Minghao laughed. “Let me see.” he waved his flashlight around, scanning the room. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a couch, only some chairs that looked stiff and uncomfortable. “None.”

 

Mingyu sighed. “What about upstairs?”

 

“You wanna go upstairs?”

 

“Not particularly. But, like, if this is mimicking an actual house, there should be a bed somewhere, right?”

 

“Oh, smart. Yeah, there’s probably a bedroom upstairs.” Minghao flicked the flashlight at the stairs’ direction and turned to Mingyu. “Shall we?”

 

The older nodded, following him upstairs to a possible bedroom where they could wait for a miracle to get them out of there. The stairs creaked just as much, if not more than the floorboards, and Mingyu grew more nervous with each step, grip tight around Minghao’s hand. When they reached the second floor, a small corridor greeted them, two doors to the right and one to the left, a creepy portrait of a young lady on the wall opposite to them. They opened one of the doors to their right, revealing what should look like a bedroom.

 

“Bingo!” Minghao exclaimed, tugging Mingyu’s hand and bringing him inside the room. It was quite small, but the space wasn’t cluttered — there was only a bed and a wardrobe, probably leaving the free space for one of the house’s scary attractions. The younger boy patted the bed, testing the mattress, and plopped himself on top of it after deeming it decent. “Join me, Gyu. It’s relatively comfortable.”

 

Hesitantly, Mingyu joined him, sitting on the bed and leaning his back on the headboard. He sighed.

 

“How much are we going to wait?”

 

“I don’t know. Hopefully, not much.”

 

“Should we try and text the others?”

 

“Good idea. I didn’t think of that before.”

 

The house, it seemed, was a weird deadzone for phone and data signals. They couldn’t send or receive texts, nor complete phone calls. Mingyu shivered.

 

“What if the house is haunted for real?”

 

“I doubt it.” Minghao rolled onto his back. “We would’ve been dead by now. We’re an easy prey for horror movie monsters.”

 

“Yeah, but what else would explain our situation?”

 

“Don’t stress it, Gyu, there’s a rational explanation to this. For now”, the chinese boy yawned. “I’m tired. What if we take a nap?”

 

“Take a nap. In a haunted house.” Mingyu said, incredulous.

 

“I’ve slept at worse places. Can I use your chest as a pillow? Since there are none on the bed.”

 

Whoop. There it was. Mingyu wanted to say no, because he knew having Minghao that close would send his heart into overdrive, but he couldn't say no because, well, that was his best friend, and he was never one for denying skinship or displays of platonic affection. So he just sucked it up and nodded, feeling his cheeks heat up as soon as Minghao laid on his chest, snuggling close.

 

“Your heart is beating really fast.” the younger noted. “Are you really that scared?”

 

“Y-yeah…” Mingyu lied. Well, it was better than admitting his gigantic crush on Minghao.

 

“Sorry. I didn’t know it affected you to this point.” Minghao’s face fell and he snuggled even closer, holding Mingyu’s hand. “Don’t worry, ok? I’m here. Nothing’s going to happen. We’re safe, we’ll be fine.”

 

Having Minghao so close and whispering comforting words in that soft voice of his almost made Mingyu melt on the spot. He tried to focus on other things to still his heartbeat, but everything else was darkness, so he was trapped. 

 

A creepy noise interrupted their moment, making Minghao detach himself from Mingyu.

 

“What was that?” he asked.

 

“The wind?” the older suggested. “If it’s not the wind, the house is definitely haunted.”

 

“The house is not haunted. It must be the wind, then.” Minghao went back to snuggling Mingyu, still determined to take his nap.

 

“Then why am I hearing steps?”

 

There was a pause. Indeed, steps could be heard in the distance, not really coming closer to them, but not seeming to cease either. 

 

“Okay, those are steps. But it doesn’t prove anything.”

 

“It proves that there’s someone, or something, stuck in here with us, and it will eventually come upstairs to kill us.”

 

“It’s probably one of the staff members looking to see if there’s anyone still here. We should make our presence known.” Minghao made a motion to get up from the bed, but Mingyu pulled him back to his chest.

 

“No!! We need to hide! Didn’t you watch, like, a thousand horror movies? Being loud never helps.”

 

“Gyu, this is real life. The house is not haunted. They’re probably looking for us right now, so please let me go so I can get us out of here, will you?”

 

Mingyu loosened his grip, now noticing they were in a rather compromising position. “We’re going to die.” 

 

As Minghao got up from the bed, the steps seemed to grow louder, as if approaching nearby. Noticing that, Mingyu flinched, curling up on himself.

 

“Fuck, fuck, shit, I’m going to die.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Minghao sat on the bed and brought a hand up to pet the older’s hair. “No one is going to die. It’s fine. We’re gonna be fine.”

 

Mingyu was sweating, hands trembling, as he mumbled something about dying over and over. He looked at Minghao, barely illuminated by their phones’ flashlights. He studied his soft features, the faint laughter lines around his mouth, his messy hair falling on his forehead and around his face like a halo, his button nose, oh, so adorable, Mingyu wanted to smooch him, and his eyes, delicate doe eyes that even in the darkness on the room sparkled like a million galaxies. Or maybe that was Mingyu’s mushy, in-love brain talking nonsense.

 

“Gyu… Why are you staring?”

 

“I want to tell you something. Since we’re gonna die in here, I might as well do it now.”

 

“We’re not going to die, but go on.”

 

“I’ve been in love with you since high school.” Mingyu blurted out.

 

Minghao blinked. “What.”

 

“Freshman year of high school. I’ve had a crush on you since then.”

 

“That’s… That’s a long time.” the younger laughed, breathlessly.

 

“Yeah… It kind of evolved since then. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you now. You’re just so… Perfect. I couldn’t help it.” Mingyu sighed in relief. “That’s the bravest thing I’ve ever done in my whole life. And now my life is about to end because we’re stuck on a haunted house and-“

 

Minghao’s soft lips did a good job shutting him up. They were only pressing, not moving, just resting against Mingyu’s, a warm reminder that everything that was happening was real. He couldn’t believe it was real.

 

They separated, and Mingyu was staring at the other dumbfoundedly.

 

“What was that?”

 

“I like you just as much, silly. Not for that long, but, like, on the same intensity.” he stole a pack to Mingyu’s lips. “ _ You’re _ the one that’s perfect, not me.”

 

“Shut up.” the older chuckled.

 

Minghao grinned. “Make me.”

 

That made Mingyu claim his lips again, cupping Minghao’s jaw with one hand. Eventually, their lips started moving together, fitting like puzzle pieces and dancing on their own pace. Minghao maneuvered himself so he was half-laying on Mingyu’s chest their legs sort of tangling together, sort of not. After a while, Mingyu flipped them over and positioned his knees on either side of Minghao’s body, straddling him as they kissed.

 

They were so caught up in their own world that they didn’t notice the steps coming closer, and closer, and closer, until they stopped and a voice could be clearly heard.

 

“Oh. Oh my God, that’s some freaky shit right there.”

 

Mingyu scrambled off of Minghao’s lap to sit on the edge of the bed, hands over his knees. The younger stayed where he was, only turning his head towards the door.

 

“What the fuck, Soonyoung?” he asked.

 

“We were looking for you two, and when I finally find you, you’re making out. Inside of a haunted house. I mean, no kinkshaming here, but you gotta admit it’s a little-“

 

“Shut up.” both Mingyu and Minghao said in unison. Then, the older continued. “How did you find us? Actually, what happened?”

 

“There was a malfunctioning in the gears or something. It made the exit door lock by itself, and the machines that make the spooky noises, the moving objects and stuff, they all stopped working. So, the staff evacuated everyone by the front door while they worked on it, but apparently you two escaped their eyes. Everything is back in order now, and the guys and I were looking for you. Now I’m scarred for life. Thanks.”

 

“We were just kissing.” Minghao protested.

 

“You were doing a little more than that, but okay. Now, let’s go? I’m tired, and Cheol promised me a milkshake after we found you two.”

 

Minghao and Mingyu got up from the bed and followed Soonyoung downstairs hand in hand, ready for the endless teasing they’re going to have to endure. But, Mingyu thought, if that was the price to be able to kiss Minghao and see his sunshine smiled directed at him and him only, then so be it. He’ll gladly endure the teasing. He’ll gladly endure whatever he needs to.

  
  
  
  


(Minghao takes him to watch a horror movie on the theatre on their first date. Mingyu screams and hides his face on his boyfriend’s neck the whole time, sometimes even throwing popcorn at him, but Minghao makes it up for him with little kisses all over his face, so it’s ok.)

**Author's Note:**

> woop if you made it here congrats!! if you'd like pls leave a comment i Love feedback it keeps me motivated uwu happy halloween and happy november!! see you next time bubs


End file.
